The reduction of the DRS zone does not appeal to either the fans or the drivers

This season, the grid is experiencing a debate. At the beginning of the season, the FIA decided to make modifications to the DRS zones of the first five races, which will likely be repeated in other Grand Prix. The objective of this change was to make overtaking easier or more difficult depending on the circuits.

More than boring races

But this measure did not please everyone. In Baku and in Miami, the zones were shortened in order to make overtaking more challenging than in previous years, where the FIA deemed them too easy. However, this year, the Baku and Miami Grand Prixs were very lacking in overtaking and overall action. This reduction of the DRS zone is to blame.

George Russell, the director of the GPDA (Association of Drivers), also reacted to these boring races with the reduction of DRS. « I understand the FIA’s point of view, that it is not as simple to change everything overnight. But there are other criteria to take into account. », declared the Mercedes driver. Both Grand Prix races had been particularly poor in overtaking, with the drivers often getting stuck behind the person they were chasing.

A collective feeling

George Russell reports that he is not the only one who thinks this. Following these Grand Prix races, both drivers and team directors have expressed criticisms towards the management. At the GPDA, the feedback was the same: all 20 drivers came to the conclusion that they would prefer overtaking to be too easy rather than too difficult, stated George Russell.

“The interest in sports is one of the reasons why drivers believe that overtaking should be too easy rather than too difficult. Having a race with overtakes that are too simple makes it more exciting, whereas if overtakes are too difficult, the race will be boring,” added the Mercedes driver. That seems to have been the case during the weekends in Baku and Miami.

Cars also implicated

After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc echoed George Russell’s statements. The single-seaters are still at the beginning of the new era and the cars are not yet perfect. « I think the cars still struggle to follow each other. It’s better than the previous generation of single-seaters, but still not enough to reduce the DRS », declared the Monegasque driver.

The new regulation didn’t work as well as hoped. The new flat funds had an effect, but not enough. The drag is still high and doesn’t allow for good conditions when following in turns. As a result, when reaching the straight lines, the cars are still too far apart to overtake if the DRS zones are too short.

Carlos Sainz held the same position as his teammate. The new regulations aimed to improve followability in corners. This objective has been achieved as the cars are better able to stay in contact. However, it is not yet enough to allow for a reduction in the DRS zone. « I think we are biased depending on the team we are in. […] But if we put that aside, considering the difficulty in following, we should at least not reduce the zones », stated the Ferrari driver.

Max Verstappen also questioned the cars in this issue. The reigning double world champion wonders if the weight of the cars is not the cause of this lack of straight-line speed. The 2023 cars are among the heaviest in the history of F1. « Are the cars too heavy, or are the DRS zones too short? I think it’s a combination of both. The cars are probably too heavy », affirmed the Dutch world champion.

The new tires brought by Pirelli also contribute to the aerodynamic difficulty of the 2023 race cars. Firstly, their weight has increased by 1.5 kilograms. This significant weight adds even more burden to cars that were already trying to lose weight. These new tires were meant to keep the temperature relatively low inside the structure and on the surface compared to the old ones. However, the tires still overheat quickly and don’t last as long as expected. As a result, the race cars still struggle to follow each other closely.